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Leafs forge ahead with Polak-Spaling shipment to Sharks

Mike Babcock signed up for this — that and $50 million US over eight years — when he became the Leafs coach, so there is no surprise attached to the Leafs clearance sale.

But the precision with which the announced Leafs rebuild is forging forward is impressive, as the sweeping of the shelves continued Monday, a full week before the NHL trade deadline.

The accusations of tanking won’t make Toronto general manager Lou Lamoriello blink, of course. And with that blueprint in mind, the fact that he was able to get a pair of second-round draft picks from the San Jose Sharks on Monday for defenceman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling was another significant win for a team on the remake.

“When I came here, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, so there’s no surprise,” Babcock said following a Leafs practice that had an equal number of players that began the season in the NHL as with the AHL Marlies.

“We try not to confuse the players and the people at all. We have a plan to do the right thing for the Leafs.”

That plan, clearly, is to get rid of anyone on a one-year deal (back to the brilliance of that business plan later) and stock up on draft picks. And by getting the jump on the market, the Leafs have cleared some $9 million US from their salary cap to help enable future deals over the next seven days.

The Polak-Spaling shipment to San Jose was the perfect mix for both teams. Those second-round picks aren’t until 2017 and 2018, but are a sweet return for players who hit free agency in July. Little wonder then that Lamoriello pushed to get the deal done before 9 a.m. on Monday before San Jose general manager Doug Wilson could have second thoughts.

The Sharks, meanwhile, are thrilled with the acquisition of hard-nosed Polak as they look to make a playoff run against the heavyweights of the Western Conference. For the second day in a row, Lamoriello made a deal (after sending Shawn Matthias to Colorado on Sunday) that brought a solid return.

Why not wait until the actual deadline? For starters, the Sharks were aggressively pursuing Polak for a couple of weeks. And, most importantly, Lamoriello saw value in the return and added benefit of cleared cap space to help in future dealing with teams looking to dump salary.

“I’ve never believed that you wait to the final minute,” Lamoriello said on Monday. “If you can make something you are comfortable and not worrying about what other people are doing or making, then you should do it.

“Sometimes it can’t happen to the end because it still takes two people to have a transaction. I’ve always felt if you could do it earlier, the better.”

Included in the deal with the Sharks is noted bad-boy Raffi Torres, but he won’t get anywhere near Toronto before his contract expires in the summer. The Sharks insisted on the Leafs taking Torres, but also agreed to have him remain with their AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda.

Although the Leafs are in the midst of a clear tank job as a bid to ensure a good first-round pick this June, as Babcock suggests and rationalizes, it’s been done with some transparency. It was a promise made when Babcock was signed and management hasn’t veered in the slightest from the script.

Already in 30th place, Babcock will stitch together a roster on Tuesday night that may well have as many players who started the season with the Marlies as did with the Leafs.

While the Buffalo Sabres were savaged and ridiculed for a similar strategy last year, Leafs fans seem mostly on board with the Lamoriello-Brendan Shanahan writeoff of the 2015-16 season.

The difference with the Leafs, of course, is that they’re not targeting Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, the top prizes of last year’s class. With the NHL lottery rules adjusted to avoid such blatant surrender, the Leafs have gone about it methodically.

They loaded up on players with one-year deals, already dumping three of them in return for three picks. The team still has six pending UFAs, lead by forward P-A Parenteau, a lock to leave, and goaltender James Reimer. If they can get the first overall pick and snag the coveted Auston Matthews, all the better.

It’s clear at this point as well that the team has next to no interest in acquiring roster players.

“I think the picks are the most important thing that we’ve got in these transactions,” Lamoriello acknowledged.

It’s certainly a different situation for Babcock, who said on Monday that the only time in his coaching career he’s experienced anything similar was when his Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League rebuilt in the late 1990s.

“I’m looking forward to working with whoever’s in the lineup,” Babcock said. “We’ve got lots of guys with opportunity. What they get and what they carve out for themselves … nothing’s going to be given to them.

“They’ve got to earn it. That’s just the way the league is. The league’s a hard league and it exposes weakness in everybody.”

The next two Marlies to get an opportunity will be Brendan Leipsic, who scored a goal in his lone NHL game 10 days ago in Vancouver, and former first-round pick, defenceman Stuart Percy.

There will be more where they came from too. From Babcock’s perspective, it’s another opportunity for prospects to make a case for being part of the team’s future.

“The guys who left were good people,” Babcock said. “That’s the people part of the business. The business part of the business is we’re excited to have these kids.

“In the meantime, the players that are here don’t spend any time worrying about those things. Focus on what you control.”

For as long as they are here, anyway.

POLAK HAPPY TO PLAY GAMES THAT 'MEAN' SOMETHING

Roman Polak’s hot take on being dealt from the last-place Maple Leafs to the likely playoff-bound San Jose Sharks?

“It’s always nice to play a game that actually means something,” Polak said on Monday on a conference call with reporters. “If you are playing just because you are playing … it’s always good to go to a team with a good chance of making the playoffs.”

Polak, like teammate Nick Spaling, who is also finding his way to San Jose in the latest deal by Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello, knew it was just a matter of time before he was going to be traded.

“I kind of knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of when,” Polak said. “I think it’s going to be a great fit for me. They’s why (the Sharks) traded for me out there. I play hard every night.”

Spaling, who will be reunited with his junior coach Peter DeBoer (Kitchener Rangers) in San Jose, where the Sharks held down third place in the Pacific Division prior to Monday’s play.

“Obviously, we both had fun here in Toronto,” Spaling said. “But I think as the season goes on, every player wins and wants to be in the playoffs. To get traded now to a team in a playoff push … it’s exciting.”

PARENTEAU NEXT?

P-A Parenteau stopped short of admitting his bags are packed, but the Leafs winger is well aware that his days with the club are numbered.

One of the flock of unrestricted free agents on the Leafs roster, Parenteau knows that every time his phone buzzes, a trade could be at the other end of it.

“It’s part of the business, we’re all aware of what’s going on right now,” said Parenteau whose 15 goals rank second on the Leafs in that department. “I don’t control anything. I try to go about my practice (and) get ready for my game tomorrow.”

In fact, on Monday, Parenteau was already talking as if his days as a Leaf were done.

“I’d like to tell you a story, but there’s no way around it,” Parenteau said. “You’ve got to be a good pro and keep your head above water. I’ve got two kids and they won’t be coming with me to wherever I get traded.

“It is kind of hard. At the same time, it’s a good thing. If I wasn’t having a good season, we wouldn’t be talking about it.”

The trade was all the buzz around the Leafs room on Monday, although no one was surprised. Roman Polak and Nick Spaling, who were dealt to San Jose earlier in the morning, stopped by the MasterCard Centre to say so long to their former teammates.

“You just focus on what you can do,” said goaltender James Reimer, a candidate to be moved before next Monday. “Every day as a player your focus is just on getting better.”